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Well, the head of government, Prime Minister Dean Barrow is not so circumspect; he today called it outright stealing and called on the Bureau Of Standards to act immediately and decisively.

PM Dean Barrow
"This is actually stealing. Actually stealing from the consumers and really it's extremely upsetting, it's extremely disturbing. Government will have to make every effort to put a stop to this sort of thing and to punish in whatever ways are allowed the fact that it has happened and has obviously been happening for a while."

Jules Vasquez
"It has to cause you some level of discomfort knowing that butane is one of the most odious fixed costs of every single household in Belize and that in fact a lot of that cost...the poorest of the poor are being ripped off. "

PM Dean Barrow
"Really the import of what has been revealed is of such significance. I say import but perhaps I should change that, the scandal of what has been exposed really is so disturbing that it would be a crime on top of a crime if nothing were to be done about it. It seems to me that the Bureau of Standards having verified the accuracy of your exercise must act with respect to the findings. For sure it has made me realize that we must urgently provide the resources for the Bureau to acquire the equipment needed for them to monitor now this situation on a continuing basis. But I am not entirely aware of what the legal consequences are for what has been exposed. Whatever the legal/administrative consequences, the Bureau must follow those."

Jules Vasquez
"In terms of people having been systematically and right now are being systematically defrauded. I mean, the consumers must have some right to redress."

PM Dean Barrow
"Absolutely and I am saying that the Bureau would know precisely what is the extent of their authority, what the extent of their remit is, but that something is to be done as a consequence of the expose is undoubted. You can't have what is - as well as being a huge public service - an exposure of wrongdoing which substantiates the fear that consumers have been gypped on a continuing basis for a long time, you can't have that sort of thing come to light, you can't have that sort of thing demonstrated and the government agencies simply stand pat or try to avoid the responsibility of ensuring one: that there is a consequence in terms of the culpability, and, two; there is an effort to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

Jules Vasquez
"In the immediate short term to stop the hemorrhaging that consumers are enduring every day, might it be proposed as an emergency measure to demand that these people simply install scales which can be properly set and calibrated by the Bureau?"

PM Dean Barrow
"That's exactly what I said on the show this morning after Lascelle called in. That that should be fairly easy to do and I think we should do that. I don't underestimate just the fact of the name and shame exercise that Channel 7 has conducted. I suspect that it will be a long time before the suppliers try this sort of foolishness again. There is obviously going to be and already is such a blow back, but since it is clear we can't rely only on that alone you are absolutely correct and I believe we should quick, fast and in a hurry, by way of regulations, insist on the sort of scales being in place in order for the monitoring by the Bureau to be able to take place more effectively."

Jules Vasquez
"Will it inform your future negotiations with these suppliers insofar as they have received the exemptions that you would not even contemplate for fuel. Exempted of every type of tax except for the 1% environmental tax. Will you now take a harder line with them?"

PM Dean Barrow
"Well I think that the Cabinet subcommittee will have to go back and look at the controlled prices that were agreed, the range of control prices that was agreed. i don't want to pre-judge how that exercise will come out but the exercise must take place and you've got to now input this really remarkable discovery and, modest though you are, a discovery in fact that has been produced by Channel 7."

We called Director of The Bureau of Standards Jose Trejo this morning and asked him for an official comment now that his agency has certified the scale we used as 100% accurate for the weight which was tested.

Trejo told us that his CEO had urged him instead to issue a press release. We advised him that we would officially put his office on front page if it did not give an interview on what even the Prime Minister agrees is a scandal.

Trejo promised a release and an interview, but he provided neither and didn't even call us back. So tonight, echoing what the Prime Minister said, we are calling out the Bureau OF Standards: this is a consumer emergency, not a casual revelation. We urge you as well to call the Bureau of Standards hotline at 0 - 800 - 283 - 5587 and demand action if you feel you have been cheated by your butane company.